Abstract

Giant exchange bias with a shift up to 3.86 kOe has been observed in alloy in which a ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetictransition takes place at 250 K. The transition can be suppressed to lower temperatures by higher magnetic fields at a shift rate of 10.3 K/kOe. Exchange bias and enhanced coercivity occur simultaneously, revealing an exchange coupling between the coexisting antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phases. Meanwhile, the internal exchange coupling inside the antiferromagnetic clusters dynamically ensures their unidirectional anisotropy during their size changing following the external magnetic field.